Health - State wanted to help Schleiz clinic with loan guarantee
Before the insolvency of the Sternbach Clinic in Schleiz, according to statements from the Health Ministry, the state attempted to support the struggling clinic. In April, the state provided a temporary bankruptcy guarantee for bridge financing in the amount of two million Euros, a ministry spokesperson announced on Wednesday in response to inquiries. The state aimed to give the hospital some breathing room to improve its financial situation. It was announced on Tuesday that the small hospital in the Saale-Orla-District was in insolvency proceedings in self-administration.
The restructuring process is to be used to sort out the finances of the hospital and to find potential partners interested in investment or cooperation, the private clinic company stated. Patient care continues without interruption.
The temporary bankruptcy guarantee of the state was obtained through the state-owned Thuringian Development Bank, the ministry spokesperson said. However, the performance of the 100-bed hospital did not develop as predicted. "All involved parties agree that another loan is not the solution to secure the economic viability of the clinic until the planned reform of the federal government is implemented," the ministry stated.
With the reform, the reimbursement system for clinics is to be changed, they are to receive money for offering certain services instead of just flat rates per patient. The transition phase until then is particularly economically challenging for small hospitals. The hospital in the Saale-Orla-District, with departments for Internal Medicine, Surgery, Anesthesia/Intensive Care, Pain Therapy, Radiology, and an Emergency Department, reportedly treats up to 350 inpatient patients monthly. It had a turnover of approximately 17.5 million Euros last year.
Guarantee program for clinics in distress in the works
The state government announced two months ago that it would introduce a guarantee program for clinics in financial distress. With a planned volume of 100 million Euros, it is intended to secure loans that hospitals must take on to cover cost increases. The corresponding regulation has not yet come into force. There are still ongoing inter-ministerial consultations, the Health Ministry stated on Wednesday.
- Despite the efforts of the Ministry of Health in Thuringia to prevent insolvency, the Sternbach Clinic in Schleiz is currently undergoing insolvency proceedings in self-administration.
- The temporary bankruptcy guarantee provided by the Thuringian Development Bank, a state-owned institution, has not significantly improved the hospital's financial situation in Schleiz.
- In response to the financial struggles of small hospitals, such as the one in Schleiz, the state government of Thuringia plans to introduce a guarantee program with a volume of 100 million Euros.
- BMG, the federal Ministry of Health, is working on a reform to change the reimbursement system for clinics, which could provide financial relief to hospitals offering specific services instead of flat rates per patient.
